“I will always be a minority in every country I go to. I’m Punjabi but I was born and raised in Birmingham, England. My parents are both from East Africa, grandparents all from India. If I go to India, I’m a Brit. In the UK, I’m British Indian or British Asian. In Japan, I’m aContinue reading
“I was a single mother in California when my son told me he wanted to study Japanese. So I let him, and after he graduated from high school, we both came to Japan for two months using money I saved up. After that, my mother got sick and died, my son went to college, andContinue reading
“I had to go through a lot of disappointment, a lot “no’s”, before getting to where I am in my music career in Japan. I came here after college and it was a total culture shock (even though I used to stay here as a kid since my dad was in the military). I gotContinue reading You Got This
“I’m from Ghana. It’s in West Africa. I’m here on official business, to find investors who would be interested in helping develop my country. We’re rich in agriculture. I’m also here to visit family. My sister is married to a Japanese man. She’s been living here for 29 years. I hope to build ties withContinue reading African Festival
“Before Marie Kondo sparked joy on Netflix, I was already minimizing my stuff, selling them off, giving to charity, or just ridding myself of my belongings. I had this idea in my head that the less stuff I had the easier it would be for me to go anywhere. And I’ve wanted to live overseasContinue reading My Bungu Box
“Growing up in Vietnam, I was so afraid of not getting into a good school. There was pressure from my family, teachers and friends. So when I didn’t pass the entrance exam of a university where I wanted to study, I cried for a whole day. Looking back now, it wasn’t the end of theContinue reading Accepting Failure
“Pakistan’s society is very patriarchal. You get defined as somebody’s wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, or mother. Although things are changing, I think it’ll still take more time. Now I live in Japan. When I moved here, my husband told me about this Japanese proverb: Ten people, ten colors, which means ‘we’re all different and that’s okay’.Continue reading Ten People, Ten Colors
“We’re students from Indonesia and Vietnam. We host mock conferences and tackle global issues at our university club activity. It’s a great way to bring international and Japanese students together and help us understand each other better. It feels like a small community, too, where we can help members navigate through tough and challenging situations.Continue reading Model United Nations
“My whole life, I have been body-shamed for being too small for my age. After graduation, I had an interview with a radio station, and it went well. But then they told me the position wasn’t available to someone like me. They said I was too small. At first, I thought they were referring toContinue reading Size Doesn’t Matter
“I came to Japan to sing on a Disney tour, met a guy the first week, married him three months later, then found out we were pregnant the next day. It was a big leap and I know it was a hasty decision, but I’m rewarded for it every day. Now I’m just learning howContinue reading Off Limits
“I was so burned out from work. The stress was too much to handle that my stomach would hurt and I wouldn’t be able to come to work. When I went to the hospital here in Japan and even in France, the results showed my body was fine. So it was just all in myContinue reading 80 Jours Japon
